


Lengshui (Cold Water)

by robodork



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Alternate Universe - Space, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Android Zuko, Astrogaang, Book 1: Water (Avatar), Gen, I Will Counteract That, It's A Little Dark I Guess Sorry, Pilot Sokka, Science Fiction & Fantasy, So Much Gotdamn Worldbuilding, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25867522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robodork/pseuds/robodork
Summary: inspired by concepts from tumblr users @/limit-list, @/itszukkatime, @/acezukos, as well as other brilliant bloggers!Loosely inspired by Avatar: The Last Airbender's Book One: Water, an AU in which the universe is set in a space opera universe inspired by the likes of Star Wars, Firefly, and Battlestar Galactica. Katara and Sokka are siblings residing on the planet North Pole working hard to support their village when they find a mysterious young stranger frozen in ice who just might be able to overthrow the oppressive rule of the Fire Nation, who has sent out an android specialized in hunting him down.
Relationships: Aang & Katara & Sokka, Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Zuko & The Fire Nation (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. The Boy in the Comet

They say the stars shifted when the Fire Nation attacked. Every water tribe elder has a story about the paths between each planet, when the four bending elements were as one. When the Fire Nation launched their first attacks, they say it disturbed the balance of the universe. The only benders who could see the paths when it happened were not human. They were the Air Nomads, the most spiritual of the benders, among them, the Avatar spirit, the ancient alien able to master all four elements. It bridged the gap between the humans and spirits roaming among the wider universe, powerful enough that a human could not witness it in its primal form, so it chose to continue through each life in a cycle, inhabiting the body of a different human each time. The Avatar was hidden when the Fire Nation attacked.

The Fire Nation destroyed the Air Nomads, and the secret Avatar along with them.

With the Air Nomads and the Avatar, they took the sun.

And decided that wasn't enough.

They took a sun from the South Pole when Katara was nine and Sokka was eleven. That was when the warriors left to fight, including their father. There were still four left, of course, but the siblings knew from their Gran Gran Kanna that nature and spirits were not things to be meddled with. The southernmost Water Tribe was just glad the Tui and La constellations were still in place.

* * *

The days and nights on the South Pole are inverted. The remaining four suns burn bright at night and the moon rises round and gentle each morning. The benders are more powerful that way.

Except of course there's only one bender now.

Katara is responsible for maintaining the ice wall that protects her village. She's had no instruction since her mother Kya was killed during the last raid when the sun was stolen and everything went to hell, and with the harmony guttering between the suns and the moon her power is unstable. The village is circular, enclosed by the towering, transparent wall of ice. Beyond the wall is the ocean-tundra. When the moon is high, the water retreats in favor of high glaciers steady enough to traverse across, but when the suns begin to rise, the glaciers give way to a frigid ocean. The tents, naturally, are built thick to ensure darkness for optimal rest.

* * *

Evening arrives with no dinner for their neighbors and just enough for Kanna and her grandchildren. The fish goes to the other family and Kanna knows how dangerous the ocean is at night, but she can't go too many nights a week at her age without a fresh meal. The jerky rations are for emergency only, much to Sokka's dismay.

Sokka and Katara load Sokka's drifter with fishing spears and an extra lantern. Sokka never let Katara on trips until he realized she could actually get his drifter into the water without wasting gas on flying it up to the rim. He has some complex about not letting her come along since she's a girl, and because he's apparently freaked out by her bending or some other reason that Katara knows is a load of bullpig-shit (and Sokka would be bothered by a girl swearing as well which is why she does it). 

Katara and Sokka climb aboard. Sokka's an ace pilot and he knows it. He's joining the resistance forces when he finishes mentoring the little boys in the village. For now all he can use his drifter -- a small but sturdy spaceship with capabilities of space, above-ground, and water travel -- for is catching fish. And helping Katara practice her water bending. He doesn't want to admit it but Katara is great at bending the water in such ways that they can get home more efficiently and so he can find good fish. Now if only she could maintain herself long enough to not scare away every single fish in the ocean. 

"Ready for liftoff," Sokka says just like his father commanding his crew.

Katara takes a deep breath, focusing her energy on the snow around them. She begins to lift them off the ground, gentle as she can, guiding the platform of snow underneath them towards the edge of the wall. Katara winces as they hear the rudder hit the edge with a nasty grinding sound. It's not broken, and it's happened before, but Sokka is never pleased with her when she does this.

"Sorry," Katara says. 

"It's fine," Sokka replies grumpily, and Katara is pretty sure it's not. The drifter is the biggest remnant of their mother they have in some ways, though it belonged to their father. He piloted it, she waterbent alongside him. They were a team.

Sokka eases the joystick forward, letting the ship creep into the water quietly as not to scare off any fish. The sun cuts through the surface, illuminating the depths, though a few remaining stars in the sky reflect back at the siblings. They drift slowly for a while, allowing Sokka to take stock of the fish below. They've gone a mile and despite the abunduance of fish Sokka hasn't caught even one. Of course, Katara has an idea, and she has a little too much confidence in it most likely, but she's going for it anyway. She concentrates on the water with all her might, sculpting a round pocket of water to scoop fish up with. It's not perfect, and her mittens are a little restrictive, but she can see the shimmering anchovy mackerels darting around within the bubble. Sokka is at the other end of the drifter trying to spear fish and quickly losing patience. He's just about to stick an impressively-sized one when Katara shouts with glee. "I got one!"

Sokka loses his grip on the spear and it slides into the water, quickly lost to the depths of the freezing ocean. He turns around and sees Katara's bubble, so taken aback he has to take a step back -- just a hair too far. Sokka nearly tumbles out of the back end, and Katara launches herself forward to catch him, losing her bubble as she grabs her brother's hand. It bursts on them, showering the two with freezing saltwater and stray fish. They flop around Katara and Sokka's feet as they right themselves. Sokka fumes as he gathers the tiny fish up to store among the packed snow in the ship's tiny hold. 

"I'm sorry," Katara says again, but Sokka holds up a hand.

"No, it's fine. I'm sorry too. I'm just worried about Gran Gran and it's making me kind of a jerk," Sokka tells her.

"I know something we could do to cheer us up," Katara says.

Sokka looks at her in surprise. "What?"

"We could go ice skipping."

"Wait, seriously?" Sokka asks. "We haven't done that since Mom..."

"I know. I think I can do it," Katara interrupts him.

Sokka sets to work pulling the hull back up over the drifter, ensuring they won't get wet beyond the open window. Just for effect.

He puts on his lucky pair of goggles -- the ones attached to the warm leather cap made special for him, and gives Katara the signal. Katara plants her feet and begins to bend the water backwards. They shoot forward so hard they have to grab onto the walls for dear life. It takes Katara a few minutes to get into the rhythm of bouncing and sliding over the ice floes, but she masters it quickly, memorizing the rise and fall of the waves beneath them. 

They're going to fast to avoid it when they realize something's hurtling straight for the water.

The impact sends the drifter spinning violently over the waves, leaving Katara and Sokka dizzied and shaken but mostly uninjured beyond some bruises. "What was that?" Sokka asks breathlessly, as if Katara knows any better than he does.

She shakes her head wordlessly.

"We should go back," Sokka says. "It's not safe out here."

Katara finds her words. "No."

"Are you crazy? We could have died, Katara. We have to retreat with what we have," Sokka says, but Katara isn't looking at him, she's looking past him, which is of course infuriating but Sokka has to look too.

There's a comet embedded in the side of a glacier. It's steaming slightly, and a blue glow comes from within. So Katara commandeers the drifter.

She doesn't know how to steer it, but she knows how to bend. "Sorry, Sokka," She says again, and propels the drifter forwards until the prow is inches away from the comet.

Sokka stares dumbly at her, eyes wide with shock and anger, but the anger in his expression gives way to confusion, and he points at the comet. "There's someone in there."

Katara follows the line of his fingers to the center of the comet. There's a boy in there, sure enough. He must be twelve, bald, with glowing blue arrow tattoos tracing along the contours of his body and down the slope of his forehead. His clothes are thin and airy -- he wears a loose orange poncho over a yellow patched jumpsuit and no shoes. 

Clearly he's not from around here.

The expression he wears is neutral, and he seems not to have sustained any frostbite, but Katara is worried for him. She steps out onto the long prow of the drifter, trying to get closer.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sokka demands, face flushed with anger. "This is my ship, and my rules. Get the fuck back down here right now or _else._ Don't think about pulling anything, you know I'm your superior. And you're just a girl." He spits this last part, and Katara feels her blood boil.

"Or else what, Sokka? I'm sick of you pretending you're some stupid soldier guardian parent. You just want to be Dad and you're not. I've been fixing up everybody's clothing, taking care of Gran Gran, teaching the little girls how to heal, and holding up that ice wall all by myself, and you have the audacity to diminish me like this? You are the most sexist, immature, piece of--"

"Katara, watch out!" Sokka cries, and Katara barely has time to register the blades of water she's created that have split the icy comet open like a coconut.

Katara has a split second to send the water crashing back into the ocean as the ice and stone split. She leaps through the spray, landing on the icy surface. The cleats on the bottoms of her boots latch quickly to the surface and she scales it, hurrying towards the boy, whose tattoos have stopped glowing. "Sokka, help me!" She yells.

Sokka wobbles towards them, his impatience and lack of grace giving his boots less time to adjust to the slippery surface. Eventually he makes it to wear the boy is frozen, and he begins to hack at the ice with his boomerang while Katara tries to turn the ice to water, which she's not exactly well-trained at, but eventually it starts to slough off. The boy is freed, and Katara catches him in her arms, trying to warm him up by proximity. He opens his eyes.

"Will you go ice-skipping with me?"

Katara gives a half-laugh, half-sob of relief. "Let's take you back to the village."

He's thin and light -- easy to carry propped between Sokka and Katara. They set him down in a pile of pelts while Sokka charts the course back to the village. The suns are high now, and Katara and Sokka's eyes sting with exhaustion, but they have to keep moving. 

Katara crouches down next to the boy, pulling a lantern close though he still gives no indication that he's cold. Her mind is racing, a thousand questions on the tip of her tongue, but she can't overwhelm him. She starts off with the main question.

"Why were you in a comet?"

She immediately realizes the answer is complicated and regrets asking. But all Aang says is, "I thought people started off with their names first! Man, I've been out a longer time than I thought."

He doesn't say it impolitely in the least but Katara feels a pang of guilt. "Oh, right. Sorry. I'm Katara, and this is my brother, Sokka. What's your name?"

"I'm Aang! What year is it?"

"Excuse me?" Katara asks. This must be a joke.

"What year is it?" Aang reiterates. "I'm worried my friends might be looking for me."

"Ninety-nine, why?"

Aang stares at her. "Oh no. No, that can't be right. Are you sure?"

"Positive. Are you okay?" Katara asks. A pit forms in her gut as things start clicking.

She recognizes the tattoos.

"Sokka, he's an Air Nomand," She breathes. "You're a miracle."

"I am?" Aang asks innocently. His eyes are big and his cheeks are still round with baby fat. He can't know what happened.

"Oh, Tui, that explains the tattoos..." Sokka says, heart clenching. "No one's seen an Air Nomad in one hundred years."

Aang's chin quivers for a second. "I was in there for a hundred years?" He asks hollowly.

Katara nods. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay!" Aang tells her with a sudden burst of cheer. "I'm sure they're still waiting for me. We can find them."

"Slow down, first things first. We need to get back to the village. We can sort things out with you and we can finally have our dinner," Sokka says. Food is forever a priority.

A thought occurs to Katara. It's ridicuous, and maybe a little selfish, but it's sounding better to her by the second. "I.... might go with Aang," She blurts before she can help herself.

"What?!" Sokka half-yells.

"Sokka, I need to master water bending if I need to keep that wall up. If Aang finds his Air Nomads, we can find some other Water Tribe people. At the North Pole," Katara says.

"Let's wait to talk to Gran Gran, okay? This is too fast," Sokka says. It's a much closer answer to yes than he usually gives her.

"I think it works out. Air Nomads are everywhere by definition. No planet to truly call home I guess," Aang explains patiently.

"Hm," Katara says. "Wait. You're an Air Nomad from one hundred years ago, which means.... You must know the Avatar."

Aang is silent for several seconds. "Funny story," He says, smiling uncomfortably.

"What? What is it?" Sokka asks impatiently.

"I..... _am_ the Avatar."


	2. Return of the Avatar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katara and Sokka make a startling discovery about the Air Nomads. Zuko pursues.

_Interlude: On the Origins of Bending (59 AG)_

There's one thing we know for certain about bending, and it is that bending is caused by epigenetics -- changes in our genes that happen without altering the makeup. Humans, as well as our now extinct humanoid cousins, the Air Nomads, seem to have had changes in their genetics linked to the length of time we have spent in space, though scientists are not sure what exactly the specific factor in space is. 

* * *

There's a ringing silence as Aang's words sink in.

Not only is he part of an extinct people, he's the _Avatar._

And now he's on his way to their village.

"I... would say that we thought the Avatar was dead but considering you're an Air Nomad, we may have to revise our expectations a bit here," Sokka says.

"Not just an Air Nomad! An air bender," Aang tells him. He stands, a bit unsteady, pulling out a stick the length of his forearm. He spins it and Katara and Sokka nearly jump out of their boots as it extends into a staff made of shining metal and wood. He taps it on the floor of the ship and sails burst from the sides of either end of the staff.

Sokka is immediately all over it, examining the materials and the architecture until Katara has to restrain him from taking the staff out of Aang's hands just to get a better look.

"Dad told me when I couldn't sleep one night about the Air Nomads," Sokka says in wonderment. "Is it true that you can breathe in space? And that the arrow tattoos are actually part of your skin? And that--"

"Sokka, don't ask so many questions, he just woke up," Katara scolds.

"No, it's okay," Aang says good-naturedly. "But you guys think we can breathe in space?"

He doubles over laughing, clutching his staff for support. "That's so weird! That's like me thinking Katara can breathe underwater," He says, wiping tears of merriment from his eyes.

Sokka and Katara exchange shocked looks.

"The arrow part is true, though," Aang explains. "They appear only on benders, though. Other Nomads tattoo them on if they don't bend. We're not the only benders with markings, though! The fire monarchy has them, too. They look like big red birthmarks."

"You must hate humans, huh? Air Nomads are pacifists." Sokka asks Aang off-handedly.

Aang stares at him."The Air Nomads are human, too."

* * *

The Prince of the Fire Nation does not have a mark.

Instead, there's a burnt tear in his face and beyond that, a singed circuit board.

He was supposed to have been the perfect machine -- loaded with full knowledge of war tactics and a tracking system more advanced than any before him.

But his father had made a fatal mistake in construction.

And that was giving him emotions.

With emotions come morals.

And in the Fire Nation, any opposing view is met with a scorching tongue. Or in Zuko's case, a scorching hand. 

_It's not like it can feel pain, right?_

Zuko's been banished for three years and he's right in place for the comet to strike. His father gave him the coordinates, the time, everything, and Zuko has them all down to a science. Or, he would have, if his Uncle Iroh hadn't made him look for a lost Pai Sho tile.

He's on his hands and knees crawling under the table when the ship begins to rattle. He tries to stand and immediately bangs the back of his head on the iron surface above him. Not that he can feel it. His vision sensors jar for a minute as he rushes to the observation deck with Iroh at his heels clutching a dusty lotus tile for dear life. They're looking down at the quiet, blue and white South Pole below when the comet streaks past, leaving an icy trail in its wake. Zuko scrambles for the intercom. "Set course after that comet."

The ship streaks off at a dangerous speed, hurtling through the atmosphere so fast they've begun collecting dents in the hull. Zuko shoves his way to the bridge. "We need to slow down. This is an ambush."

The pilot pulls back on the controls, nearly knocking over the bridge crew as they brake. The ship is massive, and Zuko grits his teeth as the pilot steers it careful as can be into a stealth water landing. He sees Iroh wince a the splash and knows it's not a great sign. 

And with the landing comes more bad news.

The comet is split open.

No Avatar.

He's about to lose hope when he sees the little drifter on the horizon.

"Follow that ship," He spits.

Katara and Sokka are going to lead him right into the hidden village.

* * *

The fish isn't much, and Aang can't eat it as it turns out, though he insists he isn't hungry despite not having eaten in 100 years. Despite the meager portions, the fish Katara and Sokka have found are not the worst they've had by a longshot. After dinner, Katara insists on introducing every single member of the village to Aang, who immediately forgets every name except for Sokka's and Katara's (not that he'd tell anyone that).

After dinner, everyone turns in for bed except for Aang, who sits by the front of the tent trying to meditate. His thoughts are plagued by what Sokka said earlier. That the Air Nomads were thought not to be human. He knew Sozin may have had it out for them, but the propaganda seems to have paid off even one hundred years later. But all he needs to focus on is finding an Air Nomad. He knows there's a sanctuary on a nearby moon. And he'll bet his staff there are still people waiting for him there.

He's been meditating for hours when he's jarred from his thoughts by a nasty cracking sound, though no one is up faster than Katara. She's outside in an instant, breathing hard, ready to stand her ground against the ice wall.

But it's not the ice wall that's the problem.

It's the Fire Nation ship resting at the edge.

It's early in the morning and the shadows stretch eerily across the village, making the ship resemble a shadow spirit ready to devour them. The ice wall is beginning to buckle under the weight of the massive star cruiser. The village is awake and alert, ready to take the youngest and oldest of the tribe out through the ice tunnel below. Emergency use only. Katara is pretty sure this constitutes as such. 

Sokka is nowhere to be found, but Katara can't look for him. She has to keep the wall intact. Aang appears at her shoulder. "What's happening? Why is there a fire ship?" He asks, eyes round with confusion.

He's been frozen since before the war. "Aang, a lot has changed since you were in that comet. The Fire Nation declared war one hundred years ago. They've been taking the suns for their own power," She says. She doesn't want to tell Aang they're not exactly keen on other kinds of benders. Katara is supposed to be the protector of the village despite Sokka's insistence that as eldest capable male it should be him. But she can't bend in front of the Fire Nation. Not like her mother.

"Fire Nation?" Aang asks. "I thought they didn't have a title. Sozin was part of a new bloodline, he wanted to rebrand..."

Katara launches into the fastest explanation possible, hoping the ship doesn't unload. "The Fire Nation is an ideal, not a nation. They want to spread their culture through forced assimilation and any other means necessary. They've already taken over other tribes here, and only Tui and La know what they've done on other planets. They steal suns to weaken the original population and strengthen their own."

Aang is struggling to grasp the information, but Katara can't coddle him right now. She's assessing every crack in the ice, the position and weight of the ship, and what happens if the ship slides any further.

Two things happen in the same instant.

The gangway hinge releases, sending massive chunks of ice raining down on the far end of the village -- already evacuated, thank goodness -- and Sokka appears at the ready in traditional Water Tribe warpaint, boomerang strapped across his back and club in hand, ready to strike. The drifter is not loaded.

Sokka is not planning his escape.

_Sokka is not planning his escape._

Katara isn't sure if it's brave or stupid, but she admires how ready her brother is to take on a full Fire Navy ship presumably by himself.

A single person walks down the gangway.

A teenager.

He's Sokka's age by the looks of it, pale skin and a bald head save for the traditional ponytail at the top of his head, wearing a crisp black uniform consisting of a high-necked tabard and tight black pants with turned-up-toe boots. He has one eye, golden, the eyebrow above perpetually creased in anger. The other eye is gone, as is the surrounding skin. All there is left is an exposed circuit board. She knows who this is.

The disgraced android brainchild of the Fire Lord.

And Sokka's about to fight him.

Katara has no time to reach out for him before Sokka charges Zuko, club brandished. He leaps, and for one shining moment it looks like Sokka is going to land a blow, but Zuko's arm darts out in an instant and pushes Sokka off the side. He lands in the snow below, disarmed and disheartened.

Zuko steps off the ramp and into the snow, looking rather out of place, though his anger is imposing enough. "I'm looking for the Avatar," He says.

Katara's heart drops -- is Aang still next to her? 

He's not.

She turns her head ever so slowly and nearly jumps. Gran Gran is not with the elders. She's helping Aang load the drifter.

Katara swallows her fear. "There is no Avatar here," She says, and she wants it to be brave but her voice shakes and Zuko hears it.

"I'm not so sure about that," Zuko says. His tone is dangerous and fox-clever. Katara doesn't like it one bit.

He walks towards her and Katara stands her ground even as his face is inches from hers. "I know he's here," He hisses. "I'm going to find him."

"He's not here," Katara repeats, stronger this time. 

Unfortunately, Zuko is a stubborn cuss. He shoves past her. Everyone in the village is rooted to the spot, and he begins to approach the group of young and elderly, his knuckles glowing with the beginnings of a fire blast. "One of you must be the Avatar," He declares, and points to the group of elderly.

There's a pause. Katara stifles a laugh, but it dies in her throat as he seizes the robes of Ukiuk, the oldest man in the village, dragging him forward. She's about to stop him when a yell sounds over all else.

"It's me! I'm the Avatar! Come get me!"

Aang is on top of the hull of the Fire Nation ship, dodging blasts from the crew beneath him like it's a goofy dance.

Zuko is smart, but Katara realizes he's also impulsive. He lets go of Ukiuk to fire a massive blast at Aang, but it hits the hull instead as the little airbender leaps into the air, staff in hand. He soars over their heads as the blast hits the hull, causing the ship to buckle further into the ice. The wall begins to crumble.

Katara has no choice.

She bends.

Sokka scrambles out of the way, regaining his wits as Katara sends the falling ice and snow back upwards, punching a massive dent in the cruiser's side and sending it reeling back into the ocean. Water slops over the edge and Katara has a hair's breadth of a second to freeze it against the side. The rest of the village is pressed against the opposite side of the basin as Katara maneuvers the ice and snow back into place with a terrific grinding sound. She closes her eyes and breathes, feeling her mother's spirit in her heart as she delivers one more blow to the ship with a ruthless spike of ice. It's send spinning, the ice grinding into the hull as the ship nearly capsizes in the waves.

A hesitant cheer goes up, but it's not over yet.

There's still Zuko to deal with.

Katara prepares herself to deliver a blow to the back of his head, but something flies towards the android prince, something angular and metal.

Sokka's boomerang hits Zuko square in the back of the head. He collapses.

"His system is going to reboot in ten minutes. We need to evacuate to the tunnels," Sokka yells.

"How do you know this?" Katara asks him.

"It was in that set of robotics scrolls Dad gave me for my birthday when I was ten. Even the Fire Lord isn't above android engineering 101," Sokka says smugly.

He makes to join the group heading into the tunnels but somebody has a firm grip on his arm.

"Take care of your sister, Sokka," Kanna says.

"I don't understand."

"A certain young Avatar says that your sister is coming with him to master water bending. You need to go with her, you're her older brother," Kanna tells him firmly. She presses an extra bedroll into his hands. "Take care, Sokka. Now hurry, the Avatar wants you by his side."

Sokka and Katara throw their arms around her but she pushes them off. "I said hurry!" She says.

The siblings dash for the drifter. "There's no way we can break atmosphere in time," Sokka says as they jump aboard.

He seals the hull, readying it for its first ever space mission. Aang holds up a tiny hard drive. "Not if I can help it," He replies.

The hard drive says Appa in neat script, after the constellation. The stars at the tips of each horn are the true guiding beacon for the Air Nomad. 

"What does it do?" Sokka asks, though Aang already has it in the port.

"This!" Aang grins, and presses the start button.

They take off at breakneck speed. Katara has no time to say goodbye to the little village as it rapidly grows smaller. And the ship is only just speeding up. The stars around them begin to blur, and the space in front has turned into blue rings.

"Hold on tight!" Aang says as they hit the first ring.

Sokka's little drifter has hit light speed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes the title is a play on return of the jedi


	3. Exhale Grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for genocide in this chapter
> 
> Aang finds what's left of his old home

It sounds like the hull is about to be ripped right off the top of Sokka's little ship as they're sucked into the ring of blue light. They've been catapulted straight into the starry expanse ahead, but as soon as it's started it's stopped.

"Hey, what gives?" Sokka complains.

Aang looks out the window. "We're here!"

"Where? The North Pole?" Katara asks.

"No, not yet. We're visiting my friends first!" Aang says. He looks out the window again and his face darkens momentarily. "I think the temple's seen better days, though."

Katara joins him at the window. They're floating in the mesosphere of a small, mostly terraformed moon. There's a massive, crumbling temple barely visible below. Though it's difficult to make it out, it is not difficult however to tell the condition of the place. The grass hasn't been tended in nearly a century, and there are scorch marks marring the craggy surface. If Aang notices it, he doesn't let on.

"Are you sure you want to go down there?" Sokka asks, voice brimming with apprehension.

Aang nods firmly. "Yeah. I'm sure there'll be someone."

Katara's heart aches as Sokka takes them down for the landing. The closer they get to the ground, the more dire it looks, but Aang is vibrating with excitement like they've landed in the middle of a festival. As soon as the hatch opens he's bounding outside yelling for the monks. 

"I don't think they're coming," Sokka says to Katara.

"I don't think so either," Katara replies.

They follow Aang outside, letting him lead the way. He's light on his feet as ever, effortlessly bounding from ledge to ledge above them, landing gracefully on his feet with small bursts of air to cushion his falls. They pass through once-ornate outdoor corridors, now crumbling. Weeds sprout through the cracks in the cobblestones, though the only other form of life here seems to be scattered lemurs nesting on rooftops and in vacant fireplaces and alcoves. 

There are long burns scarring the walls and floors as they continue on -- Katara feels queasier by the parsec.

"Are you sure they're still here? It looks completely deserted," Sokka calls out to Aang. A lemur chirrups at him grumpily, awoken from its slumber. "Except for these guys."

"There's _always_ someone here," Aang insists, and for the first time the siblings hear a true note of anxiety in his voice.

He begins to pick up speed, taking shortcuts leaping off broken pillars and climbing up the sides, straining his eyes for any sign of human life. 

"Hello?" Aang yells. His voice starts catching in his throat. _"Hello?"_

Sokka and Katara nearly lose him as he disappears through a patch of overgrown bushes. He's standing at the edge of a pit filled with poles.

"What's this?" Katara asks.

Aang startles as if he's forgotten his companions. "It's for playing air ball," He says stiffly. "No one's here either."

He sits down with his legs dangling over the side. Sokka pulls Katara aside. "We need to tell him. I can't watch this."

"I can't. For Aang, it's like he's just seen these people. I can't do that to him," Katara says. Tears sting at the corners of her eyes.

Sokka sighs. "Yeah, you're right," He says, then freezes.

"What?" Katara asks, looking around wildly.

There's an antique Fire Nation helmet sitting just a few feet away from where Aang is sitting. Sokka flings himself out of the pushes, punting it out of sight. Aang turns around with a yelp. "What was that?"

Sokka fumbles for an explanation. "I, uh, tripped."

"You should be careful, Sokka, there's a lot of debris around here." Katara backs her brother up without a second thought.

Aang gives them a funny look. "I'm gonna go look inside."

* * *

Aang doesn't come back out for several minutes.

"I'm going to check on him," Katara says. She drags a half-asleep Sokka to his feet, calling for Aang. She has no idea where she's going, just following her gut feeling through the temple. The place is covered in a thin layer of dust and Sokka, though tired, begins to notice disturbances where Aang may have gone through. They find the door to a sanctuary ajar. Aang's back is the entrance and he's staring at something awful. 

The room's air is chilled and smells like rot and mildew, and leaning against the back wall is a pile of skeletons, some half covered by old Fire Nation armor, some in tattered robes or nothing at all. In the center of it all are the mostly preserved bones of a monk wearing long, moth-eaten robes and a heavy pendant with the symbol of the Air Nomads on it.

Aang can't stop looking at it.

A tear drops to the floor.

Katara clutches Sokka's arm. "Aang?"

He turns, but this is not Aang responding, this is someone -- something -- else. His eyes and arrows have gone bright white. This isn't Aang.

It's the Avatar.

A breeze begins to stir as his face crumples with rage, chest heaving with labored breaths. The wind whips harder around them and Sokka pulls Katara behind a scraggly tree, holding on for dear life as the wind turns into a full-force hurricane gale, scattering leaves and bones everywhere. "What's wrong with Aang?" Sokka yells.

"I think he's gone into the Avatar State, I'm going to calm him down!" Katara says, releasing her grip from the tree.

"What? No, that's a terrible idea! Katara, come back! You're going to get hurt!" Sokka replies, much too late for Katara to consider listening to him.

Katara hits the ground soon after a few steps, but she's not giving up. The impact jars through her bones and her knees are no doubt bruised and scraped, but she keeps going, first crawling, then slowly walking, forcing herself forward. "Aang! Aang!"

He doesn't respond, winds growing more destructive by the minute. But Katara doesn't see danger -- she sees a friend in need. She reaches for Aang, finding a grip on his shoulder, and does not let go. "Aang, this is not who you are! You're a pacifist! I'm so sorry your friends are gone but you have us now, so you have to keep going and healing!" Katara is spouting words she's not even processing herself, but it's working.

The glow begins to fade and the wind starts to die down as Aang's head droops forward. He drops to the ground and Katara catches him. 

"Did I hurt you?" Aang asks. His voice is raw.

Katara instinctively pulls him into a hug. "No," She says, voice muffled in his shoulder. "Aang, I'm so sorry we didn't tell you."

"It's okay. I understand. I need to do one last thing, though," Aang says.

Katara helps him to his feet. Sokka rejoins as Aang leads them back through the temple and up several flights of stairs, supporting himself with his staff. They enter a spacious room occupied only by a massive door.

Aang sends two forceful gusts of air up into the tubing on the door. It rushes through with an ominous blare, and the doors part with a deafening _boom._ It appears to be almost completely dark inside.

The massive chamber is bathed in shadow, but there's just enough light to tell what it houses.

The statues begin in a dizzying swirl so high only Sokka, the tallest, can just barely make out the beginning. The cycle continues into almost the dead center of the room, ending on a wizened looking man with long hair and a beard. He wears old ceremonial Fire Nation robes. The next pedestal is devoid of a statue.

"Avatar Roku!" Aang says excitedly, dashing over to the old man's statue with newfound alacrity.

"He was the Avatar before you, right?" Sokka asks.

"Yeah. I dream about him sometimes," Aang says, trailing off with something like wonderment in his voice. "I'm here, Roku. I'm the new Avatar." He steps forward, placing his hand on Roku's arm.

They all jump back as Roku's eyes begin to glow, then Kyoshi's, then Kuruk's, then Yangchen's, one by one, all the way up the walls to the very top. Aang closes his eyes, dropping to one knee. "I'm ready," He says softly to the statue. He turns to Sokka and Katara. "Everyone knows I'm back now."

There's a seriousness in the kid's eyes that takes Katara by surprise. "We should go," She says quickly. "They might be able to track us here."

Sokka and Aang nod in agreeance. They board the drifter quickly, punching the ignition. They're all about to breathe a sigh of relief when they hear a scrabbling sound from beneath the controls. Sokka's hand flies to his boomerang. 

"What was that?" Katara asks. Adrenaline floods her system.

"Stand back," Sokka says. "I'll handle this."

He reaches for the panel, and opens it with a quick yank. Something small and gray shoots out, eliciting a panicked screech from Sokka. Aang starts laughing. "What's so funny?" Sokka asks grumpily.

Aang scoops up the furry gray thing in his hands and lets it crawl onto his shoulder. "It's a flying lemur!" He says. "Let's name him Momo."

Katara tickles Momo under the chin. "He's kind of cute!"

"Are you sure we should have p--" Sokka is cut off by an ominous sounding _clank._

They're being boarded.

* * *

Zuko is forced to tell Zhao what happened to the ship.

What happened to him.

And what happened to the Avatar.

They're at a spacedock, the ship crumbling along with Zuko's remaining pride. He'd been left in the snow and the Avatar's proverbial dust, waking up back on the ship after having been carried back by Iroh. And now he's stranded with one of the greatest admirers of his father as well as his competition until the ship is fixed.

Zuko anticipates every word Zhao throws at him, but flinches all the same. _Never should have been in charge. Better off dead. Beaten by a one hundred and twelve year old child. A disgrace to the Fire Nation._ He feels himself grow hot around the neck. _Just the fans,_ he reminds himself, but deeper down he knows it's anger. 

Zhao has a small office, though he insists he'll be upgraded soon. The little port hole window faces out onto the ships below, ensuring that Zuko and Iroh know they're getting the repairs they need. 

"You know, your father did you a service when he burnt you," Zhao says as they sit down.

Iroh chokes on his tea. "Excuse me?"

Zuko feels something hot and sick bloom within his chest. "Shut the hell up, Zhao."

"What did you just say to me? I am your superior," Zhao spits. "You're just a teenager."

"And you're a sad middle-aged man with terrible sideburns," Zuko counters. It's not mature but Zhao's already been fighting dirty.

Zhao slams his palms down on the desk. The tea cups clatter dangerously and Iroh reaches out to stop them from falling off the side. 

"That's it," Zhao snarls at Zuko. "Agni Kai, you and me, sundown. If your father couldn't finish things, maybe I can."

Zhao storms out, leaving Zuko and Iroh alone in the study. 

"I'm so sorry, my nephew," Iroh says. He reaches for Zuko's shoulder but he jerks out of the way.

"Don't touch me."

* * *

The last thing Sokka recalls before is a flash of a white-faced soldier in loose green fatigues.

He awakes alongside his sister and Aang tied to a stake, head pounding. There's a humbly dressed man standing before them, arms crossed.

"Where are the men who captured us?" Sokka croaks. 

The man steps aside. A group of women -- girls? -- with painted faces stands behind him. They're wearing the fatigues from earlier, and tightly laced boots. 

Sokka feels his masculinity crumbling away. "You're kidding me."

The apparent leader of the group approaches him with a smirk. Though her clothes are long and baggy, there's no mistaking the broadness of her shoulders and the power behind her stance. Sokka's never seen anyone like these girls. His fury at being emasculated is starting to become outweighed by how frankly _impressed_ he is, but he's determined not to let it show.

"Afraid I'm not joking," The girl says, smirk deepening. "Don't you recognize me from earlier?"

"No....?" Sokka says, confused.

"How about now, asshat?" She replies, slugging him clean across the face.

Sokka sees stars. "Yeah, I do now," He groans. "I'd punch you back but you're a lady."

She winds up to punch him again.

"No, no, wait! Don't hit me. Please let us go. I'm with the Avatar," Sokka cries.

The girl relaxes, but only a bit. "What were you doing at the temple?"

"I'm the Avatar, I swear," Aang says. "I can explain."

The girl beckons for the rest of her group to come over. They each draw a wickedly sharp fan from the folds of their clothes, and with one graceful movement the bindings are cut. "I'm Suki," She says. "We're the Warriors of Kyoshi."


	4. Stoking the Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Zuko and Zhao duel, Sokka learns lessons in feminism

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUKKA RIGHTS

The sky is stained blood red as Zuko approaches the ancient grounds for Agni Kai. The air is hot and dry, and filled with the sounds of a busy evening at port -- incoming and outgoing ships, cargo being moved around, and even the faint hum of cicadapedes. Iroh is at his shoulder as always, looking uncharacteristically grave. Zuko wears the ancient robe around his shoulders, and the silky material sends an artificial chill up his spine. He reminds himself it's not real as they pass under the archway. They're on hallowed grounds. Zuko faintly remembers something he had once overheard when he was younger, about androids' lack of faith. Like it was wrong for him to participate in his own culture. Zhao waits at the opposite end of the arena, arms crossed. His hair is still pulled back but some strands are falling out now -- Zuko guesses he's been having a fit ever since he mouthed Zhao off earlier.

"I see you decided to show up. Maybe there's still some honor left in you after all," Zhao says. His face crumples into a pugnacious smirk and Zuko is ready to wipe it off then and there.

He holds back for his uncle's sake.

Zuko and Zhao stalk toward each other, hands outstretched. They shake each other's hands with a crushing grip. Zhao doesn't react but the blood is draining from his face in Zuko's mechanical grip. Zuko can't feel pain but he knows the finer inner workings of his hand are slowly being crunched in Zhao's grasp. They back away from each other, a dangerous stillness in the air as they let their robes drop to the ground. And then in one instant the stillness is over and Zhao sends forth a great wave of fire at Zuko's face. He rolls out of the way, neatly, but not neatly enough. He feels the heat lick the side of his face and knows his father would think it to be sloppy. Zuko sends a furious retaliation towards Zhao, sending fire ball after fire ball out of his palms, feeling the heat gather and release in one volley after the other. Zhao avoids them but just barely. He's too angry to be properly focused, but Zuko is too, though he doesn't have time to dwell on it before Zhao's sent his next attack directly for Zuko's face -- a vicious blazing kick that he only has a millisecond to avoid.

Zuko sends several more punches towards Zhao, but he blocks every one of them, more neatly this time, but anybody can see he's sweating. Zuko tries again, but Zhao holds steady once more. Zuko battles his way closer, but Zhao is digging in, blocking each attack with more and more ease.

"Break his root, Prince Zuko!" Iroh calls from the sidelines. He's the only one who calls Zuko 'prince' and genuinely thinks him as such.

Zuko feels like he's been jumpstarted as all his combat lessons and programming come back to him in one massive blur, and he begins to fight with a renewed vigor, aiming for Zhao's feet in hopes of knocking him off-balance. Zhao is forced to move as Zuko aims his blast successfully between his feet, which blister quickly. Zhao grits his teeth in pain and charges towards Zuko with an angry roar. It would be threatening if his body language wasn't so obvious. Zuko watches his left leg swivel out and to the side, ready to strike Zuko in the side of the head with a flaming heel and sole. Zuko anticipates every movement, ducking to the ground and kicking out, his foot connecting squarely with Zhao's shin. The commander goes toppling sideways, hitting the dust with an unpleasant _thunk._ Zhao does not stand back up.

Iroh approaches as Zuko stands over Zhao, offering him a hand. Zhao groans in pain, then reaches for Zuko's hand, but before he knows what's happening Zhao is on his feet and Iroh's between the two of them, sparks dissipating in the evening air as Iroh has redirected Zhao's shot.

He was going to kill him.

"There is honor in accepting defeat, Commander Zhao," Iroh says, shaking his head as if at an unruly pupil.

Zhao glares at Iroh and Zuko, shaking with fury at having been bested by a teenager (if he could even call the bucket of bolts such a thing). "Mark my words, Zuko, there will be no spirits watching over us next time," He says.

Iroh takes Zuko by the shoulder and steers him firmly out of the arena, pointedly ignoring the commander's raving. "You did well, my nephew," Iroh says quietly.

Zuko feels something like pride.

* * *

Sokka is begrudgingly impressed by Suki's job. 

They're on Avatar Kyoshi's home planet, it turns out -- it's small and heavily forested, but the community is tight-knit and vibrant; above all fiercely devoted to their patron Kyoshi. Suki and the rest of the warriors work tirelessly to protect their tiny civilization and the temple from any encroaching Fire Nation soldiers. Their suns are all in place and no one from the Fire Nation has set foot on the planet or the temple grounds in one hundred years.

Sokka's instinct is to doubt this statistic, but it makes sense as he mills around the village. The children all look healthy and happy, weaving between the adults' legs as they run through the marketplace laughing and playing. A few little kids gape at the drifter in awe. Sokka had fixed it up after his mom had died with completely recycled and salvaged parts. It looks junky but he still feels proud of it.

Aang has garnered a fanbase of his own. Sokka hasn't seen him all day as he's been either completely obscured by a throng of girls or at the beach doing spirits-know-what. He's more curious about an actual functioning body of water than whatever Aang is up to.

Katara has spent the day in the marketplace gathering what information and supplies she can before they head out again. The woods apparently boast a decent amount of fruits and nuts, which both her and Momo are quite appreciative of. Sokka reminds her to buy meat too as he mills around, nursing his damaged masculinity. He can see the Air Temple's moon all the way from the planet below, even during the day, and for a moment he remembers what it's like to have a sense of wonderment. He realizes soon he's blocking the path for several people where he's stopped and keeps walking, unsure of where he's going. He stops in front of a humble building with a thatched roof. Several extremely antique-looking drifters are parked around back. They're in excellent condition but Sokka knows these parts haven't been used since before the genocide unless they're junked. He's curious as to who owns them though, as the condition is too good to be owned by any amateur pilot or mechanic. Sokka approaches the door and slides it open. He almost immediately regrets his decision.

Suki and the Kyoshi Warriors are in the middle of training quite clearly, fan-blades at the ready, in the midst of some intricate-looking choreography. "Oh, it's you," Suki says. If looks could kill, Sokka would have at least fifteen fan blades embedded in his skull at the moment.

"Yeah, it's me," Sokka says, attempting at confidence and overstepping straight into cockiness. "I don't mean to interrupt your dance practice, ladies, I'm just sitting in." He feels Suki recoil and knows he's made a serious mistake, but has to continue to play along with it as he's too stubborn to accept defeat currently.

"No, by all means, join me," Suki says, her voice honeyed poison. "Girls, you're all dismissed early. You did great today."

There's a chorus of goodbyes and thank yous from the group as the rest of the warriors pack up, leaving Sokka and Suki alone. 

"So, is this the part where you murder me?" Sokka asks nervously.

Suki's eyebrows shoot upwards. "So you do you think I'm capable of fighting."

_Shit, she's good._ "No, I--uh--that's not--fuck."

Suki smirks at him. She has him right where she wants him. "You must think you're so much better than me, huh? I hate to break it to you, Sokka, but even if you were a big shot back back home, I'm in charge here."

"I don't mean to brag or anything, but I was kind of the chief when my dad left," Sokka says, examining his nails. It's true to some degree, although he's forcefully reminded that he left as well.

"You believe you have authority over me, don't you?" Suki asks. "That's cute."

"Oh, you're looking for a fight," Sokka replies. "I think I can take you, but I'm still not planning on hitting a girl. It wouldn't be fair."

"I beg to differ."

"Then beg," Sokka says confidently.

Suki scoffs and in one fluid motion pulls Sokka's hand behind his back, forcing him into a kneeling position. "Looks like you're the one on your knees," She hisses in his ear. Suki releases Sokka's arm and he falls to the ground.

"Still think you can take me?" Suki says.

Sokka groans weakly. "Fine. You win. Teach me."

Suki looks momentarily surprised. "Teach you? I think I can make that happen. But you're going to have to subscribe to all of our traditions. _All of them."_

She's surprised Sokka doesn't protest as she cakes his face in the traditional makeup. He sits still and quiet, barely twitching even as the brush passes over his eyelids and nostrils. _He may be a jerk, but he knows when enough's enough. Maybe he's redeemable,_ Suki muses internally as she waits for Sokka to finish changing.

Her breath catches in her throat as she sees Sokka emerge from behind the screen.

"You don't look half-bad," Suki says. She swears Sokka is blushing under the heavy paint, but she's not sure it's because of the clothes or the compliment. She likes it either way.

* * *

Aang is half-dressed and still dripping wet from being thrown off the back of an elephant koi when he notices the blot in the sky. It looks innocent at first, some space debris or someone returning to the surface, but the closer it gets, the more he feels something is wrong. He puts his clothes on hastily, snatching up his staff and half-sprinting outside to make sure he's not seeing what he thinks he's seeing. He's not the only one who's noticed. A few nearby Kyoshi warriors and even some older townsfolk are craning their necks towards the Fire Nation vessel in the sky. Katara finds him quickly, lugging a heavy basket of fruits, vegetables, and nuts, which Momo is intermittently stealing small scraps from. "Aang, we have to go."

"We have to leave? And let the Fire Nation attack this place?" Aang asks, caught off guard by the urgency in Katara's voice.

"Aang, they've got this, we need to go. They're looking for you. Staying here is going to put this whole planet in jeopardy," Katara insists. "And I don't even know where Sokka is."

As if on cue, Sokka and Suki are rushing towards them, both in full uniform and makeup. "The Fire Nation found us, I don't know how," Sokka says breathlessly.

"We know. We're leaving, I promise," Aang says. "I'm sorry we can't stay."

"It's fine, my girls and I have got this," Suki assures him. "Now, go!"

Aang takes off ahead of Sokka and Katara, hopping into the drifter and trying to start it up. "No, no no...." He mutters.

"What's wrong?" Sokka asks as they finally catch up to him.

"It says there's twenty minutes till Appa recharges," Aang moans in distress.

"There's _what_ till _what?_ We don't have that kind of time!" Sokka says, face in his hands.

"I know. I know. This isn't good. I can't put all these people's lives in danger," Aang says. The ship is near-landing, sending dust and leaves flying in a rush of hot air.

"I'm going to evacuate the village," Katara says. "Aang, please tell me you have a plan."

"I do. But you're not going to like it."

Katara gives him a fleeting look of distress before rushing off to gather the villagers. Aang is going to get captured. _Almost._

He knows who's about to come down the gangplank before the hatch even opens. Prince Zuko strides down the steps with a seemingly newfound confidence. Fire plays across his fingertips as he sets foot on the ground. Aang stands his ground.

"Ready to give yourself up, Avatar?" Zuko asks. "Or are you here for a fight?"

"Either," Aang says boldly. "Just don't hurt the people of this village."

"Afraid I can't make any promises," Zuko says.

He lunges for Aang, who dodges quickly. The blast of fire from Zuko's fingertips misses, quickly catching on a nearby house. Aang feels a jolt of panic run through his body. He should have anticipated that. He's getting too confident. He shakes it off, pushing Zuko back with a quick gust of wind, and his next attack is redirected into the ground. Katara keeps herding the villagers back as the fires catch while Suki, Sokka, and the rest of the Kyoshi warriors hurry forward to stop the horde of soldiers emerging from the ship behind Zuko. Everyone knows there's too many, but they keep fighting, even as the soldiers begin to overtake, knocking the Kyoshi warriors back into their own territory. The fires continue to spread above.

Suki and Sokka crouch behind a far building as the sounds of battle get closer.

"Suki, I... I really underestimated you. You're really good for a girl," Sokka realizes it's backhanded a second too late, although the only girl he's known to be as powerful as her in a combative sense is Katara.

"I'm a warrior, and a girl too," Suki says. She kisses him, and both their lipstick smears. "Go help Aang. I can do this."

Sokka nods dumbly. He rushes around the corner, head on into the fire. "Aang, we have to lead them out of here," He yells.

"But they're supposed to capture me," Aang calls back.

"We both know that's not happening, now, come on," Sokka says. He grabs Aang by the sleeve, pulling him back to the drifter. "Katara, you too! Hurry!"

Katara is shaking her head. She's too far away to be heard clearly but Sokka and Aang know exactly what she's saying. She wants them to leave without her.

With shaking hands, Sokka presses the ignition, and in a second, they're gone.

Katara and Suki are still down there. And the Fire Nation is taking prisoners.


	5. Imprisoned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naughty Bender Children get put in Space Jail
> 
> (Happy birthday Mickey <3 i procrastinated so i could post this as a present for your special day!!!!)

Katara awakens on a cold stone floor, mouth dry as a bleached and carved bone. Though her hands are free, her fingers are bound together, no doubt to prevent the intricacies of water bending. The sack of a dress they've put on her is thin and poorly made, and she shivers in the chilled air. Katara studies her surroundings, slowly recalling the events prior. She had put up a fight, naturally, and had been knocked out, judging by the throbbing pain at the back of her head. She's lying propped against a wall in an open-air prison yard -- or, it appears that way at first. There's a thin dome overhead, and beyond that, the vast expanse of space. Katara's vision swims as she processes the location. She can't take her eyes off the dome. In the lower half of her line of vision, small groups of people are huddled. There is little conversation. Katara pushes herself up onto her knees, then stands shakily, evening out her breaths. She half-stumbles across the yard, looking for any familiar faces. Even if there aren't, she knows Aang and Sokka will come back for her.

_Right?_

Katara is beckoned over by an older man holding a bowl of soup. He holds it out.

"For me? Are you sure?" Katara asks.

The man nods. "I was saving it for when you woke up. We saw you come in. Heard about you, too."

Katara is taken aback as she takes the soup, bringing it to her lips. It's rancid and bitter, but she forces it down, knowing it will be her only energy source for a while. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," The man replies. "My name is Tyro--" He gestures to the teenager next to him who must be Katara's age, if not a bit older "--and this is my son, Haru."

"It's nice to meet you both," Katara says. "Even given the circumstances. I'm Katara. This is probably a bit... forward, but how are we getting out. I would guess you have a plan?"

Tyro gives her an incredulous look. "That _is_ quite forward."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," Katara says quickly.

"No, not at all. I just don't think it's going to happen." Tyro says it so off-handedly that it takes Katara a minute to realize what he's saying. Her eyes widen.

"You're just going to abandon all hope like that?" Katara asks him, feeling the heat rise in her face. 

Tyro lets out a heavy sigh. "There was little to begin with."

A pit forms in Katara's stomach, deepening as she looks around the area, registering bit by bit the fading light in the prisoners' eyes. "I can't believe you," She says, though she's not quite sure what she's saying. "I can't believe you would give up hope so quickly! It makes me sick." Her eyes sting with hot, angry tears.

"What seems to be the problem?" a nearby guard asks, although it's clear he doesn't care.

Tyro shakes his head. "Nothing at all."

The guard raises an eyebrow. "You're sure?" He glances towards a seething Katara.

"Positive," Tyro says evenly. He gives Katara a look as if to tell her _stand down._

Katara hurls herself at the guard, knocking him flat on his back. "Run! Just get out of here!" She yells while the guard is momentarily stunned.

No one moves.

They just stare.

"Why aren't you fucking moving?" Katara says desperately. "Get out of here!"

Her only answer is deadly stillness. She looks down at the guard. He's grinning.

"You're never going to win this," He tells her, then she's flipped onto her back and everything goes dark.

* * *

Sokka and Aang are floating in space on a dead ship.

Well, it's not dead yet.

But Appa's charge is shot from using it in succession.

They sit on the hard metal floor of the drifter. Sokka's head is in his hands and Aang is trying and failing to meditate. The silence between the two is miserable and Aang knows this is his own fault. All they can do is wait right now. The ship is kaput and it's not like they've seen any Fire Nation vessels anyway, which ticks both of them off much more than either would care to admit, although for different reasons.

Sokka must remain stoic so he can maintain his self-image as a patriarch.

Aang must remain stoic so his emotions won't cloud his judgement while still allowing himself to feel them. He must remain fair.

Sokka feels the gravitational field around the ship shift ever so slightly -- he's unused to being in space and the slight jerkiness is foreign to him. He stands slowly, peeking over the windowsill. It's a Fire Nation vessel. His thrill of excitement is overtaken by frustration and disappointment, knowing they'll never catch up.

"Aang, you said the Air Nomads can't breathe in space, right?" He asks, running through five plans at once. His gears are turning despite their predicament.

"That's true, why?" Aang replies, not sure what Sokka is getting at.

"This might be a little crazy, but, here goes," Sokka says, taking a deep breath. "Air Nomads might not be able to produce their own air to breathe in space but maybe, and this is a longshot here, the Avatar can."

This gives Aang pause. Sokka worries he might be shot down when the little monk agrees. "I think it could work. I'm willing to risk it," Aang says. His gray eyes shine with determination. "I'll do it for Katara."

"For Katara," Sokka agrees. He rummages around in the hold for a strong rope. He had been saving it to scale ice walls but this seems much more consequential now. He helps Aang secure the length around his waist, then fastens it to a support.

"Hey, Sokka, what happens if this doesn't work? I haven't really ever gone into the Avatar state on purpose before," Aang says nervously.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Sokka says. He knows the answer is _implode and die_ but he doesn't want to freak anyone out (including himself), and more than anything he's determined to get his sister back. Luckily Aang is on board enough that he doesn't question anything further. He plops back down on the floor, takes a deep, shuddering breath, then closes his eyes and puts his fists togther.

"What are you doing?" Sokka asks.

"I'm trying to focus on going into the Avatar state," Aang replies rather irritably.

"Sorry. Do what you need to do," Sokka says rather hastily.

There's a long silence.

"Is it working?" Sokka whispers.

"Well, it would if I could focus," Aang hisses, shooting Sokka a surprisingly nasty glare.

"Sorry! Sorry."

Aang sighs and goes back to meditating. It feels like hours before his tattoos begin to glow, lighting up slowly like lanterns on a street in the evening. Sokka feels the air shift in the ship like it's all being directed towards Aang. Sokka pulls on a helmet, then lets the hatch down. Aang steps out onto the metal incline, breathing slowly and deliberately. In the dark glow of space, a halo of swirling air is visible around Aang's head, matching his contours. He walks as if he's on land, one foot in front of the other like there's solid ground. Sokka can't help but laugh a little in amazement. Aang walks until the rope goes taut, and Sokka pulls him back in before the lights fade.

The hatch closes and the pressure is sealed, so Sokka casts his helmet aside, double-high-fiving a bleary Aang victoriously. "We did it! We can save Katara!" Sokka cheers.

Aang smiles, looking tired. "Good. How's the ship going to move, though? Appa needs to take some time here."

"Already got you covered!" Sokka says gleefully. "You can push the ship forward."

Aang looks hesitant at first, but accepts the challenge. Both boys have lost all sense of time with the ever-night surrounding them, and they fall asleep in better spirits than they had woken up with.

* * *

Katara is put to bed in a solitary chamber. She's fading in and out of consciousness but she knows enough to assess her situation fairly. The room is small and cramped, and the cell they've put her in is suspended above the floor. Her hands are bound though her feet are not, and every so often she flails, trying to kick a guard, but to no avail. She falls asleep on hard metal, lulled by the heat.

_The heat._

Katara may not be able to freeze anyone, but she's covered in sweat.

All she has to figure out his how to waterbend without her arms, right?

* * *

Aang and Sokka spend half the following day doing their best to track the movements of every Fire Nation vessel that passes them.

They compile maps of each potential route, compare them, and then combine until they have an overarching path averaged out from the others that makes the most sense given what little astrography they know concerning their area. They tape up the compiled map against one of the windows, then get to work making the rest of their meager preparations. Sokka pulls on his helmet and makes sure the rope measurements are correct while Aang settles into a comfortable position for meditating. There's a sense of anxiety hanging over them, but yesterday's success is encouraging enough. 

Soon enough they're ready.

Sokka lets the hatch open and Aang, bathed in white light, ventures out into the expanse. Sokka keeps tabs on him as he crosses around behind the ship to the back just below the engines. He puts his hands on the back of the drifter and there's a great shudder as the ship begins to move. It's no light speed sensation, but Sokka holds on as Aang begins to propel the ship forward with all his Avatar state might. As they go along, Sokka begins to feel lightheaded. He blames it on anxiety first, but as a large Fire Nation hold begins to come into view, Sokka fears it may be something else.

Aang has started to use the ship's oxygen.

Sokka feels woozy, trying to take slow breaths as they approach the massive prison hold. There's a pressure building, too, one that ways down almost too heavily to be able to stand up without Sokka's knees buckling. His helmet begins to crack.

Aang keeps pushing. They're so close to a window now.

"Aang," Sokka calls out the opening, but he's losing air and has no idea if Aang can even hear him. "Aang, we need to stop. We can drift the rest of the way."

There's a deadly silence as Sokka's helmet continues to split. Aang about flings himself at Sokka when he appears at the entrance. The hatch shuts behind them though no one's sure who closed it so fast. Sokka rips the broken helmet off, gasping for newly replenished air.

"Sokka, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened!" Aang half-cries.

"It's fine, it's okay. We're almost there," Sokka assures him, though he is disturbed.

They let the ship drift close to the window, peeking in.

There's a cage hanging from the ceiling.

Katara is in the cage. 

"Sokka," Aang says. "Open the hatch. Let me do one more thing. I won't go too far, you won't need a helmet."

Sokka nods wordlessly and opens the hatch back up.

Aang concentrates the air around his head into a temporary bubble. Sokka feels the air thin a bit, but not as badly as earlier. Aang steps out and knocks on the window. Katara's head jerks upwards. She looks tired and ragged, her hair loose and caked with blood at the back of her head, but her expression lifts at the sight of her friend. "What are you doing here?" Katara asks. Her voice is muffled by the glass.

"We're going to get you out!" Aang tells her. His hands are on the window like he wants to reach out to her.

"Okay. I have a plan of my own," Katara says. "I got information from a guard this morning. I'll be in the main courtyard in a half an hour for lunch. You come from the outside, and I'll come from the inside. I know what I'm doing. Now, go!"

Aang nods frantically and returns to the ship. "We need to figure out a way in."

"Okay. I bet there are periodic entrances. We just need to sneak by under the cover of a larger ship," Sokka says. His brain is working a mile a minute. "I'm the man with the plan," He says, more to self-affirm than anything else.

Sokka fumbles around in his pocket. Suki had slipped her contact information into it as they had kissed _strictly on grounds of emergency._ Sokka wastes no time typing out the code, and sends a distress call to the Kyoshi warriors. _Prison break in half an hour,_ He types. _We're going to need everyone._

He sends the coordinates and neglects to check whether Suki has seen it or not.

They lie in wait for the next prison transport--

And they're in luck, as it comes much sooner than expected.

Sokka slowly directs the drifter to the underbelly of the cargo ship, confident that they'll be safe. They pass without a trace surely enough, and Sokka directs them up through the bay and parking between stacks of massive crates.

Sokka and Aang disembark, tiptoeing their way towards the edge of the perimeter of the yard, glancing around for guards. They're all in different states of waking up still, it appears. They peer over the edge, though they're much too early. Aang and Sokka return to the drifter so Sokka can grab his boomerang.

"How do you feel about the plan?" Sokka whispers as they crouch beneath the ship.

"I think you might be onto something," Aang smiles at him.

Sokka breathes an internal sigh of relief.

They wait approximately 35 minutes before they feel at liberty to sneak down into the yard. Katara has only been down there for five minutes but she's holding a group of young Earth Kingdom men, presumably all benders, and speaking to them in a low voice. They look alert and engaged, smiling, nodding, fists clenched at the ready. Katara startles as Sokka and Aang appear behind one of the grated entrances.

"Psst," Sokka says. "We're a-go in five minutes."

Katara nods. "You guys ready?" She asks her group. Haru is among them.

They all nod firmly. Katara edges subtly towards the entrance. "I figured out what powers this place in case of emergency. It's like a portable prison -- and it runs on ground space rocks," She whispers.

"That's brilliant," Sokka says. "Suki should be here in 5... 4... 3..." His words are drowned out by an impact.

A massive ship looms over the domed prison hold. Guards begin to drop like flies and before anyone knows what's happening, there's a wrenching sound from below.

The Kyoshi warriors and Earth benders have entered the war.

The entrances open up and several girls rush in, toting massive packs full of one-use helmets and suits. They grab prisoners in groups, suiting them up as quickly as possible starting with the elderly. Katara watches Tyro shake them off, joining the younger Earthbenders as they sabotage the engines and ship bay. She smiles approvingly, then jumps into a scrap with an older, burlier guard. She starts off with kicks and punches at first, but Sokka watches as she shoves her hands below her arms and waterbends her own sweat at the guard, neatly whipping him across the face. Sokka is both disgusted and impressed.

"Sokka, help me over here!" A girl calls, and Sokka quickly spots Suki running into the deeper chambers, beckoning for him to follow. Sokka doesn't hesitate to follow her.

"There's a prisoner in solitary down here. He's the last one. We're almost ready to move out but we're not going anywhere until we have everyone," Suki explains breathlessly as Sokka follows her down flight after flight of stairs. Sokka nods, winded, as they skid down one last corridor. "That's it, at the end of the hall," Suki says, pointing towards a heavily enforced door.

Sokka lobs his boomerang at the door, hitting the massive mechanical lock right in the middle. The door swings open and more alarms begin to blare, though no guards will be coming. There's a figure chained against the opposite wall. Sokka and Suki race towards him. The prisoner is a young man with shaggy hair and thin, arched eyebrows, barely conscious by the looks of it. His chest is laced with long, thin, shining burns. Sokka hacks at the chains binding his hands with his boomerang while Suki unlocks the ones binding his feet with a heavy duty-looking key she must have gotten off a guard. Sokka loops one arm over his shoulder while Suki grabs the other. The positioning is awkward with their height difference but they're matched in strength and get him up the stairs quickly enough, wincing every time his bare feet snag on the grated metal. The place is almost deserted by the time they reach the top of the stairs, and Suki leads Sokka and the prisoner up a flight of stairs that lead to the entry point for the Kyoshi warriors' ship the Unagi. "Take him from here," Sokka says. "Katara and Aang are still down there."

Suki nods, hefting the prisoner up the stairs the rest of the way. Sokka momentarily admires the bulge of her muscles underneath her sweat-plastered top before running back down to the courtyard. Katara, Aang, and some remaining benders are down there, making sure the hold is damaged beyond repair. "We have to go, they have everyone put you guys," Sokka half-wheezes at them.

They all drop what they're doing except for the old man -- Tyro.

Haru pulls at Tyro's arm to no avail. "Dad, come on, we have to get going," He insists.

Tyro stays put, but looks back at the rest of the group. "Katara, you taught me to fight back. I'm doing just that now."

Katara's eyes widen. "Tyro, you could die."

"I'm old already. Let me do this for yours and my son's futures."

Sokka pulls Katara away, holding on however much she yells and bucks. "Katara, let him do it," He says.

* * *

They watch the hold crumble inwards from the viewing deck of the Unagi, taking Tyro with it. The shields couldn't hold any longer. Katara covers her eyes as Sokka wraps a protective arm around her shoulders.

They stand and watch until Suki appears with some news. "Sokka, the prisoner we rescued is awake. Are you able to come meet him?"

Sokka checks quickly with Katara before following Suki down to the makeshift infirmary. She weaves neatly between cots while Sokka struggles to catch up. The prisoner they rescued is all the way at the end of the row, lying on his back. His chest is covered in bandaids that are just starting to show through pink, and his eyes, now fully open, are narrow and calculating. Sokka feels a shock of mistrust for him, though he's not sure why.

"Sokka, this is Jet. He wants to thank you for saving his life."

**Author's Note:**

> lots of introduction in this chapter! also yes Sokka will get better he'll drink the women's right juice as soon as it's natural!
> 
> the galaxy that the north and south poles are a part of is ellipse-shaped, with the north and south poles on either end. the moon is in the middle and the suns orbit instead.


End file.
